Victor Grech Doctor by Doctor: Star Trek: The Next Generation’s Dr. Beverley Crusher
Introduction a new type of television physician, the intelligent and independent woman ... self-confident, beautiful, bright, As a medical doctor, I have embarked on a review of the thoughtful, and compassionate. Her character’s role doctors in the various Star Trek series. I have previously con- as lead physician and mother illustrated the changing sidered Dr. Pulaski (2013) and Drs. Boyce and Piper (2014) occupational demographics of physicians and chal- and now turn to Gates McFadden’s character, generalist Dr. lenged the cultural adage that professional women Beverly Crusher, from Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987– cannot have it or do it all. (Petrany 132) 94) and subsequent films. This series, set in the twenty-fourth century (2364–70 a.d.), approximately a century after the Indeed, Crusher embodies the new importance and ubiquity original series in the ST universe timeline, was created of female roles in the franchise. “Crusher has a son onboard twenty-one years after the original series and comprised 178 the Enterprise and balanced running the medical facilities, episodes spanning seven seasons. being a single mother, having a love life, and participating in Crusher, the Chief Medical Officer of the starships Enter- recreational activities such as weekly poker nights” (Montoya prise D and E, was a regular in all but the second of the seven 28). Women could now have it all and participate equally seasons of the show. She was born in Copernicus City, on with males while retaining the traditional role of mother and the moon, in 2324 (Landau, “Conundrum”), and has distant career. ancestors hailing back to Scotland (Beaumont, “The High Moreover, these new women wield power and are often Ground”). Her parents died when she was a young child principal protagonists. “Crusher also frequently drove the and physician grandmother, Felisa Howard, raised her on a plot ... [and] displayed great strength and perseverance” colony planet (Frakes, “Sub Rosa”). This colony was involved (Montoya 29), such that women were no longer relegated in a planetary impact with a large astronomical body which to bit parts or supporting roles. “Picard’s Enterprise, unlike caused severe flooding with many casualties. When medi- Kirk’s, has women on the bridge who actually wield exper- cines ran out, Felisa, with Beverley’s aid, resorted to herbs, tise and authority and whose opinions count” (Lundeen and roots, grasses, and other natural products for treatments. This Wagner 91). However, the circumstances in which the doctor awakened Beverley’s interest in medicine, and after grad- is originally deployed have been criticized because although uating at the top of her class from medical school, Beverly three of the principal characters are female—the doctor, the married and had one son. Her husband died when their son counselor, and the security officer—the sum of their roles was 5 years old. regresses them into “a matrix of protection not unlike that which maternal mammals provide for their young and for The Feminization of Medicine which, some might argue, we never outgrow our longing” (Lundeen and Wagner 91). They form an “umbrella of Jane Dacre, a former President of the Royal College of Phy- safety, health, and psychological security ... once associated sicians at the turn of the century, described the demographic with home and hearth” (ibid). It has thus been argued that change in the medical profession as a “tsunami of women ultimately, women remain relegated to traditional and sup- coming through” (2001), a situation that still holds 15 years portive roles for their male counterparts. It has been argued later. In the broadest sense, this is also echoed in Trek, where that TNG it is accepted that “among humans, females can achieve any- thing the males can” (Beaumont, “Suddenly Human”). is more a reflection of women’s lack of power in today’s This was not always so. From the Middle Ages onward, society than a vision of the future. The fact that non- women mostly practiced obstetrics, folk healing, and gender stereotyped women feature in a number of alchemy. They were barred from enrollment into medical different episodes but are not a permanent feature of schools, and indeed, the admission of Elizabeth Blackwell, the the series on board the Enterprise is ultimately disap- first women to receive a medical degree, in 1849 in New York pointing. The attribution of principal roles predicated State, was entirely by accident (Smith). However, Joseph Cac- on contemporary stereotypes of an essential female ciottolo has noted that this change is to be expected. “More nature in which nurturance is a primary feature thus women are becoming consultants, and more female medical reinforces, rather than challenges, the paradigms of leaders are emerging. However this is a phase of reaching patriarchal myth. (Korzeniowska 24) equality by bridging the gender divide, and not one of over- feminization” (1). Crusher thus highlights the feminization It can therefore be argued that these female characters partic- of medicine even in the future with more and more women ipate in “tokenism” (Daly 334), whereby their appearance is a joining this once traditionally male profession. Star Trek: The mere sop to feminist discourse. This is because Next Generation in the 1980s therefore heralded [m]en, nurtured and protected in this secure feminine
24 • The New York Review of Science Fiction • August 2016 haven, can range into the larger world to conduct the would ameliorate with Star Trek eventually addressing “the business of technological mastery, political leader- ideas of females in command and the new issues raised by ship, strategic dealings with the larger world, and the third-wave feminism” (29), to the extent of placing a woman general pursuit of the community’s ultimate aims and in command of the center of action, the starship Voyager in mission. Women meanwhile maintain the matrix, the Star Trek: Voyager. frame within which the thoughts, feelings, and actions of the men stand for the human drama, the drama of The Feminization of the Character everyman as everyperson. (Lundeen and Wagner 91) “Beverley’s natural walk resembles that of a striptease queen” However, this character has also been read in exactly the (Roddenberry 33). The “classy Dr. Beverly Crusher” (Forrest opposite way: 79) was deliberately chosen to be an attractive woman, as described in Star Trek: The Next Generation series bible: “she A feminist explains that she places Beverly Crusher happens to be a beautiful woman ... an additional asset ... and among her top three favorite senior staff characters, very female form” (Roddenberry 32). This is independently because “the name [Crusher] says it all; I’m into ball- noted by Montgomery Scott, the original Enterprise chief breaking women.” The differing readings of Beverly engineer: “well, I say this about your Enterprise. The doctors speak to different cultural competencies within a are a fair sight prettier” (Singer, “Relics”). humanist framework. (Santos) Crusher’s femininity is occasionally explicitly used against her, such as when a powerful alien remarks that “Crusher Andrew Montoya takes a balanced, dispassionate, and ana- gets more shrill with each passing year,” a deprecating term lytical view. He notes that the reserved for bothersome women. The alien then promptly turns her into a barking Irish setter for a few seconds and confidence and intelligence that Crusher exudes ... are then back to her original form, all without her even noticing traits that are typical of male heroes.... By portraying (Scheerer, “True Q”). the female characters as heroes, TNG shows that women can be positive leaders and play vital roles in Excellence while Caring the working world ... represent[s] a major step forward for the women of Star Trek. (29) “It’s Beverly’s smile, it’s her kindness, her beauty within and without. So much more than just Beverly” (Rush, “The Host”). Montoya reminds us that while these women “remained Crusher is an extraordinarily proficient doctor, a crucial in traditional female roles of nurturers and healers [they] trait since she is ultimately “responsible for the lives placed possess more power and influence than the women of TOS,” in her hands every day” (Schrager 101). Thus, this character a step in the right direction. He also acknowledges that “begins a shifting image toward extraordinary competence, even infallibility” (Petrany 132), as expected of contemporary Though ... often still viewed as sexual objects, [they] doctors in this era of instantaneous access to all knowledge. accepted this and incorporated it into their lives ... This expectation is repeated in subsequent Star Trek doctors displayed traits such as physical beauty, sexuality, such as the genetically enhanced Dr. Bashir in Star Trek: Deep understanding, patience, and a desire to nurture, and Space 9 and the computer-generated Emergency Medical ... used these traits to perform their duties aboard the Hologram in Star Trek: Voyager. Enterprise. (29) Crusher’s expertise, however, never alienates or distances her from her patients. She “is a Florence Nightingale, caring However, although women “had influence and power aboard for the sick and commanding only in the last resort” (Roberts the Enterprise in TNG,” the era wherein the series were shot, 59). She works calmly “while operating scientific instru- i.e., 1987–94, still encapsulated a “society in which this Star ments and taking charge of the situation. She shows scientific Trek ... was not ready for a female to take a leadership role.” knowledge and then displays confidence” (Montoya 29), the Thus, while it was eminently welcome and not only “accept- ideal doctor. able for women to excel in the working world and to even Moreover, by all accounts, Crusher is superhuman as obtain prestigious and powerful positions, ... American “not only is she a terrific doctor and mother, but she is also society was still not ready to accept that women could hold capable of taking command of the starship and its crew when top leadership positions” (29). the other officers are on away missions” (Petrany 132). This Montoya supports this contention by analyzing United is because Crusher had successfully completed a command States Congressional statistics from 1985 to 1993, wherein training course, an unusual decision for a doctor in Starfleet the highest number of women serving in the House of Rep- but one that permits her to electively serve as the ship’s duty resentatives was 30 out of 435 and the equivalent number officer (Kolbe, “Thine Own Self”) and even actively command for the Senate was 3 out of 100, with both instances occur- the ship in combat situations (Singer, “Descent”). ring in 1993. Montoya therefore concludes: “These numbers clearly show that America was not willing to place women I volunteered tonight. I like to put in a little Bridge time in the highest leadership positions” (29). However, matters now and then, stay on top of operations, tactical pro-
The New York Review of Science Fiction • August 2016 • 25 cedures. The truth is, I like it. It’s not every doctor who “the Dancing Doctor” (Kaeppler). gets to command a starship, even if it is the night shift. [...] I never even thought about my rank for a long time. Medical Ethics It seemed pretty trivial compared to being a doctor. But then, about eight years ago, I started to feel like I wanted Crusher’s “fierce devotion comes from within. It can’t be to stretch myself a little. (Kolbe, “Thine Own Self”) diminished” (Scanlan, “Skin of Evil”). The doctor is highly principled and is constantly led by virtue ethics, both in Crusher’s care and compassion often go beyond that which is medical and in nonmedical matters (Hughes and Lantos 33). strictly appropriate for a member of the medical profession. Ethical issues are frequently invoked in ST and whether of Like Dr. McCoy before her, Crusher’s strong will often leads medical or nonmedical nature, these issues are always cham- her to vociferously and defiantly defend the (not necessarily pioned by Crusher in the fashion of virtue ethics. Indeed, it medical) underdog, thereby implicitly assuming the mantle has been estimated that 4 percent (7 of 177) of episodes of of the ship’s ethics officer. “As the voice of compassion on the Next Generation series directly addressed medical ethical the Enterprise, Crusher’s sense of justice is often at odds with issues, as opposed to none in The Original Series (Hughes the other officers in the command structure” (Schrager 101). and Lantos). This makes Crusher a cautious physician. She Indeed, her role as devil’s advocate often leads to acrimo- chastises a colleague who experiments on the sick (albeit suc- nious confrontations with the entire senior staff, including cessfully on the occasion in question): the ship’s captain. Indeed, the doctor never becomes inured to disease, pain, and suffering. She exclaims: “Damn. Where You gambled, he won. Not all of your patients are so are the calluses we doctors are supposed to grow over our lucky. You scare me, Doctor. You risk your patient’s feelings?” to which the rejoinder is “perhaps the good ones lives and justify it in the name of research. Genuine never get them” (Mayberry, “Code Of Honor”). research takes time. Sometimes a lifetime of pains- It has thus been argued that Crusher “is shaped more taking, detailed work in order to get any results. Not by her femininity than by her medical, scientific training” for you. You take short cuts, right through living tissue. (Roberts 8), an incorrect assertion as all Starfleet doctors You put your research ahead of your patient’s lives, and actively champion Aristotlean “virtue ethics” (Grech 2013, as far as I’m concerned that’s a violation of our most “Philosophical Concepts”). sacred trust. I’m sure your work will be hailed as a stun- Nevertheless, she remains on good terms with all of the ning breakthrough. Enjoy your laurels, Doctor. I’m not senior staff to the extent of joining the ritual weekly poker sure I could. (Chalmers, “Ethics”) game. Indeed, in many respects this doctor is truly multital- ented. She organizes and actively participates in the ship’s Further, in “Symbiosis” she challenged both Captain Picard theatre troupe and she is also a skilled dancer (Wiemer, and Starfleet’s “Prime Directive” when it was uncovered “Data’s Day”), a fact that she is reluctant to reveal onboard that the inhabitants of particular planet were keeping their ship as she does not wish to be known by her old nickname neighbors addicted to a powerful narcotic in the belief that
The Two Doctors: Victor Grech meets Gates McFadden at Destination Star Trek Europe, Birmingham (UK) October 2016
26 • The New York Review of Science Fiction • August 2016 this drug was a cure against a dreadful disease, a condition out that “normative heterosexuality is simply assumed; ... that was actually narcotic withdrawal. Crusher synthesized there is no question at all that this mate will be male—that a nonnarcotic alternative that would end the situation, but her biological sensors are perfectly gauged to heterosexist the Prime Directive dictated that she not offer it (Phelps). demands” (Joyrich 67–68), as it is with Dr. Crusher herself. She exclaims “it’s hard to be philosophical when faced with suffering.” McFadden commented on this specific episode, Temporary Departure from the Show noting that it is “always the dilemma, non-involvement versus involvement. We live with that today in Bosnia and During the second season, McFadden was replaced by Diana Rwanda. But my first duty in the show was to end suffering; Muldaur as Chief Medical Officer Dr. Katherine Pulaski. my second duty was to the Prime Directive” (Schrager 107). Crusher’s absence was attributed to her being promoted to The doctor is selfless in her devotion to duty. When asked Head of Starfleet Medical. The true reason was that the pro- “if suddenly you could have anything you wanted, what ducers thought to replace Crusher with a character more in would it be? ... think about it. Really think. If suddenly you the cantankerous mold of DeForest Kelley (Schrager 183). could make anything happen, what would it be?” she replies However, McFadden returned to the role of Crusher in “Well, I would probably want to heal people. People who are the show’s third season due to a lack of chemistry between hopelessly ill” (Scheerer, “True Q”). Muldaur and the rest of the cast (Schrager 185).
Nonmedical Ethics Love Interests “It’s the struggle that’s important. That’s what helps us to “Now that we know how each of us feels, perhaps we should define our place in the universe” (Frakes, “The Quality of not be afraid to explore those feelings” (Frakes, “Attached”). Life”). A philosophical Crusher discusses life and what Dr. Crusher and Captain Picard are shown to be mutually demarcates it in the following way: attracted to each other in several episodes (Lynch, “The Naked Now”), and this unacknowledged affinity is finally exposed Life is what enables plants and animals to consume when they are telepathically linked (Frakes, “Attached”). food, derive energy from it, grow, adapt themselves to However, their affection remains unrequited except in the their surroundings and reproduce.... scientists and phi- future in another timeline where it is revealed that she had losophers had been grappling with that question for not only been married to Picard, but they had also divorced centuries without coming to any conclusion.... I think (Bole, “The Best of Both Worlds”). I’m saying that we struggle all our lives to answer it. The doctor also displays a penchant for falling in love with (Frakes, “The Quality of Life”) exotic aliens, including a noncorporeal being (Frakes, “Sub Rosa”) and an alien dual being (Rush, “The Host”). The latter This existential framework colors her innately deontolog- episode depicts an initially male being that hosts a sluglike ical outlook toward life. For example, in “The Perfect Mate,” a symbiote. When the host dies, Crusher is unable to pursue female empath is involved in order to cement a truce between her romantic feelings with the new female host, for which two warring planets (Bolex). Crusher is horrified to discover this character has been accused of a degree of homophobia that this “empath metamorph” is a potentially perfect female (Lovrich 69). mate, genetically designed to bond with a male mate, and is biologically incapable of preventing herself from trans- Doctors in Star Trek forming herself into her mate’s desires. She questions the captain: “How can you simply deliver her like a courier into “Physicians evolved through a succession of changes that a life of virtual prostitution? ... I’m surprised at you ... she has reflected shifting cultural perceptions of the medical pro- been conditioned since the day she was born to believe it’s fession as we moved into the twenty-first century” (Petrany perfectly acceptable to exist only to please men ... bred by 132), The depiction of doctors in Trek has metamorphosed those people to seal a treaty with a seductive coup de grace.” with each new series. To which Captain Picard brings five sets of replies: “arranged marriages have been the basis of political alliances in many In the first [1960s] iteration ... the physician ... was Dr. cultures, including our own ... she knows exactly what she’s Leonard McCoy, a crusty Georgia general practitioner doing ... she was born to do this.” Picard also argues that any who did not trust technology, was a fierce advocate for interference with this arrangement would be a contravention his patients ... an ideal physician for the as viewed by the to Starfleet’s Prime Directive. Moreover, this would “destroy public at the time. The second iteration ... in 1987 [was] any chance of peace between these worlds ... interfere in their ... Dr. Beverley Crusher, a woman, fluent in technology society, their customs,” and that therefore, even this objec- and gifted with interpersonal skills, again reflecting the tifying transaction must be completed for the greater good. ideal as viewed by the public of the time. (Leach and Feminists have argued that while Trek attempts to feature Stevents 9) gender equality, female characters have it only insofar as “their independence is underwritten by traditional norms Clearly, with every new iteration of the medical doctor in and authorized by men” (Joyrich 67). It has also been pointed Trek, the series evolved such that they become “less human
The New York Review of Science Fiction • August 2016 • 27 and more technological and infallible. They evolve from the met considered Crusher so inspirational, “She wanted my old country doc, McCoy, to the extraordinarily proficient Dr. picture in the office” (Schrager 106). And this is confirmed by Crusher” (Petrany 133). the following acknowledgement: “from you, I have learned Crusher’s depiction is paralleled by the presence of a to strive for excellence, no matter what the personal cost” ship’s counsellor who plays a vital role and “not only hints (Scanlan, “Skin of Evil”). This is clearly an inspirational char- at the growing status of ‘therapy’ in American culture, but, as acter not only within the franchise but also in the real world, pointed out by various commentators, her role draws on such a role that would behoove medical doctors of both genders to stereotypical ‘feminine’ traits as nurturance and sensitivity” emulate. (Lundeen and Wagner 91). However, McFadden attempted to resist the trend toward the portrayal of increasing technolo- Victor Grech is a pediatric cardiologist at Mater Dei Hospital, gization of medicine. The actress commented: Msida, Malta.
The hypospray became like a panacea for everything Works Cited that went wrong. I knew we needed to work on things Star Trek: The Next Generation episodes like bedside manner. Now [the sixth season] I always “Attached.” Dir. Jonathan Frakes. November 1993. try to touch my patients physically, even if it’s not in the “The Best of Both Worlds.” Dir. Cliff Bole. June 1990. script. Sometimes the writers will have me talking to “Code of Honor.” Dir. Russ Mayberry. October 1987. someone else while working on a patient, and I always “Conundrum.” Dir. Les Landau. February 1992. try to find another way. If I were the patient, I would “Data’s Day.” Dir. Robert Wiemer. January 1991. find that annoying (Schrager 112). “Descent.” Dir. Alexander Singer. June 1993. “Ethics.” Dir. Chip Chalmers. March 1992. To McFadden, this exemplified contemporary medicine and “Genesis.” Dir. Gates McFadden. March 1994. that which could be done to improve doctor-patient rela- “The High Ground.” Dir. Gabrielle Beaumont. January 1990. tions. “I wanted Crusher to be compassionate. I think people “The Host.” Dir. Marvin V. Rush. May 1991. can stand pain and uncertainty so much better if doctors give “The Naked Now.” Dir. Paul Lynch. October 1987. you a moment” (Schrager 112). “The Perfect Mate.” Dir. Cliff Bole. April 1992. Crusher “is in all respects a superwoman” (Petrany 132). “The Quality of Life.” Dir. Jonathan Frakes. November 1992. However, despite her “extraordinary competence” (Petrany “Relics.” Dir. Alexander Singer. October 1992. 132), Crusher is yet “another Starfleet woman who combines “Skin of Evil.” Dir. Joseph L. Scanlan. April 1988. both her professional duties and a certain toughness with “Sub Rosa.” Dir. Jonathan Frakes. January 1994. the traditional ‘feminine virtues’ of nurturance, constancy, “Suddenly Human.” Dir. Gabrielle Beaumont. October 1990. and maternal care” (Loverich 66), to some extent therefore “Symbiosis.” Dir. Win Phelps. April 1988. acceding to more traditional female stereotypes. Indeed, the “Thine Own Self.” Dir. Winrich Kolbe. February 1994. actress commented on her role in this regard, stating that “True Q.” Dir. Robert Scheerer. October 1992. “there are still instances where women have all of the emo- tional parts, and I would prefer to see us a little more involved Other Texts in the decision making” (Schrager 106). Cacciottolo, Joseph. “Feminization of the Medical Profes- Like all doctors in the show, Crusher excels not only as sion in Malta.” Malta Medical Journal 27.01 (2015). all potential medical specialists rolled into one (including Dacre, Jane. “Have We Created an Era of Over- Feminism? a forensic pathologist capable of carrying out autopsies), Medicine: Sexist or Over- Feminized.” Royal Society but also an epidemiologist and a general biologist. She also of Medicine meeting, 2001.
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